That is quite an achievement considering how many times The Amazing Race was in danger of being cancelled. Thankfully, the Emmys showered down, very deservingly, on TAR and CBS realized that they had a beacon of quality on their hands.

Anyway, season ten… overall, it was one of the better seasons TAR has had and one of the more exciting. The tasks were a lot harder (and even a lot more fun in some cases) and the Race course brought them to some amazing destinations. There wasn’t one or two dominant teams like in TAR9 in which you couldn’t go wrong betting they would end up being 1st.

Instead, the lead changed every minute along the way, and some of the most unexpected teams would lead the pack.

With a season as exciting and good as TAR10 was, it was a little disappointing to have a so-so season finale. The excitement, for me, wasn’t there in that one hour. While TAR1 and TAR4’s finales (the only other one-hour finales) were very exciting, the adrenaline, the “edge of your seat” excitement, was not there.

Regardless of the finale, this was the first season that I had no strong opinion for or against any of the final three teams. Maybe that contributed to my being underwhelmed, but it should be refreshing to see teams you like in the finals.

We were introduced to the Intersection, and it was definitely interesting to see teams having to team up with each other even if they weren’t in alliances. Are there any more street signs they could make tasks out of for next season? “Ped Xing” maybe?

We also saw the first double elimination leg, with Bilal & Sa’eed being eliminated midway through the first leg. I’m sure we’ll see that in the future.

One thing I really want for TAR is to bring back the Fast Forward on every leg of the Race. I know logistics and cost is probably what caused the show to cut back on them, but they added a lot more drama, and enabled teams to rise up to the top and shake-up the standings of the teams. I would definitely like to see it make a comeback in every leg. It doesn’t have to be as elaborate as a desert oil fire, but just something that can easily be set-up, but still challenging for the teams. (Though going bald might be a little too drastic)

THE TEAMS One of the things I especially enjoyed was the variety of people they cast this season. The teams were all differently, not only ethnically, but personality-wise.

Well, other than having a cheerleader team and a beauty queen team who were completely interchangeable at the beginning of the season, they were all unique.

Dustin & Kandice, I have to give kudos to. They seemed to be on the fast track for the final 3. They were strong, very competitive (sometimes too competitive), and smart. But I guess peaking early will ware you out towards the end, and that happened to them. But while I absolutely hated them for the first half of the Race, I actually grew to like them. They’re not my favorite team, but they’re okay.

Kellie & Jamie and even Duke & Lauren… They were gone before we got a chance to get to know them. Kellie & Jamie could’ve been right there with the BQs. And it was nice to see Duke & Lauren grow closer during the Race. Tom & Terry were a little annoying at first, but then were mostly quiet the rest of the way until their elimination.

Vipul & Arti seemed like nice people and it would’ve been great to see them make it farther than the 1st leg. Bilal and Sa’eed would’ve been interesting to see go far too, though I kind of felt a TAR5 Chip vibe from them.

Peter & Sarah, TAR10’s token bickering couple. Well, Sarah proved to be stronger than a lot of the teams, despite her prosthetic leg. And she got that chance to show what she is capable of because of her and Peter’s strange Road Block decision making. Sometimes teams should just go with what they feel like instead of over thinking it. Peter is a character, what more can you say?

Rob & Kimberly, they were bordering on heading into Freddy & Kendra territory. Fortunately, Rob & Kim are lot more likeable. Still, while I would’ve been fine with them winning, I would have rather seen most of the other teams win before them.

Tyler & James, I was afraid they would be Eric & Jeremy 2.0, but fortunately they weren’t as sex-crazed as last season’s “frat boys.” Tyler & James raced pretty well actually, with a couple of setbacks here an there, but overall ran a good Race while not angering any teams… so see! It can be done!

Even though Tom & Terry were founding members of the “Backpack,” it was really all about the “Six Pack.”

Erwin & Godwin have to be two of the nicest Racers ever. Good karma always helps, but for the Chos, they could have easily ran a better Race while still maintaining their friendships and even their alliance. If one forms an alliance on TAR, I think the teams should come to an agreement that when the time comes, they can break off and do their own thing. For the Chos, that was never an option.

Lyn & Karlyn… they made history! They were the first female team to ever make it to the final 3. Unfortunately, they were out of it before even returning to the US. And while they didn’t suffer a Guido or David & Jeff-like days-behind fate, they failed to make a statement in the final leg. However, they made more than enough statements in the previous legs to make them memorable. I have to say they were very competitive, actually, and were focused on the Race for their kids. So I have to applaud them for that.

And finally David & Mary. Probably matching Charla’s level of mainstream awareness. And quite deservingly, because they were honest, sincere, and REAL. They were down to earth people who were truly amazed and enlightened by their experience. How could you not root for them? They weren’t the most physically fit team and they weren’t going to fly past other teams, but they were in it the whole time and with help from their alliance, they managed to do well. Plus their friendships are probably a lot more important than a million bucks.

David & Mary are what TAR is all about… ordinary people doing extraordinary things in an AMAZING adventure around the world.

Long live The Amazing Race!! May it have ten more seasons to come! (and then some!)